The
ever unsolved puzzle in the sales world is how to influence customer decision
towards our favor. This is one costly technique any organization would like to
afford but the question is, are there really techniques available to solve this
puzzle? The answer is yes. The distance between urgency of the requirement and
availability of budget determines the length of the sales cycle.
This
in-between situation always pushes customer to over- educate themselves, it
creates curiosity in them to choose the best, and that drives them to learn,
listen and look for reviews and feedback from other customers. This situation
has always forced the customers to a confused state to choose one solution out
of surplus competition.
Once
the customer reach this stage, they are no more interested in stories. They
clearly know what they wanted but they are not sure who can provide them the
solution. Here is where one can take control of the customers through value
selling. Value selling is positioning of your solutions value through their pain-points
and making them realize the return on the Investment.
Value
selling is like a mirror, where you have to reflect your customers thoughts,
make them understand you are aware of their problem, once the trust is
established, handhold them to future. It is a story of past and future, where
one substantiates the loss of the past with facts and numbers, while presenting
the hopes of the future with the return on Investment.
The
below are the key important things to focus while you work on value selling.
- Company Name:
- Organization Goals:
- Decision Makers KPI for the year:
- Area of problem:
- Pain-points of the problem:
- Estimated loss of human efforts towards the problem:
- Estimated loss of profits towards the problem:
- Over-all estimated loss due to problem:
- Desired state - what if story?:
- Your solution connecting to desired state:
- Value-added services beyond addressing pain points:
- Savings from human efforts:
- Savings from profits:
- Savings from value added services:
- Over-all Return on Investment:
Once
you explained the customer, it is equally important to substantiate the story
again with relevant success stories and customer references. The below are the
key important things to focus while you work on success stories
- Reference Customer Name:
- Customer Industry:
- Vertical:
- Geography:
- Revenue:
- Employee size:
- Organization Goals:
- Decision Makers Key KPI for the Year:
- Area of problem:
- Pain-points of the problem:
- Estimated loss of human efforts towards the problem:
- Estimated loss of profits due to problem:
- Over-all estimated loss due to problem:
- Story on your solution connecting the desired state:
- Savings from human efforts:
- Savings from profits:
- Savings from value added services:
- Over-all Retun on Investment:
- Contact Name:
- Phone Number:
- Preferred time to contact:
- Customer Testimonials:
The
art of selling is to keep the customer engaged through this phase and
positioning your solution at the best of your efforts. All his questions need
to be answered in a satisfying manner. Every answer to his question around the
deal need to be tied back to his ultimate requirement, pain points and the ROI
proving the real value of the engagement. The more the questions from the
customer, the more the chances to answer. The more you answer his questions,
the more the customer gets confidence. The more the customer gets confidence,
the more the customer gains trust. The more the customer trust, the more the chances
for you to question back the customer on the decision, the more you question the
customer on decision, the more you become influencer. The more you influence
the customer, the more the deal is in favor of you.
